WJCJR1
02-07-2010, 02:58 PM
E-FLITE Deuces Wild 25e2
Build and Review
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=656
The Platinum Series Deuces Wild 25e2 comes packaged with GREAT care from the factory. For an ARF of this size the box seems small but this is only due to the density of the packaging. Upon opening I was impressed with how all sections were bagged individually and protected. All surface control horns are protected from damage or causing damage by foam blocks, small hardware is prepackaged and segregated by type of hardware.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=541 http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=542
What's in the box:
(1) Deuces Wild ARF Kit
Go through your parts with your manual's list. This is a VERY thorough kit and all connecting hardware to include servo rods, all required clevises, clevis reatiners, pushrod keepers, construction required nuts, bolts, hook and loop tape are supplied.
What's not in the box:
(1) 6 Channel or larger TX, recommended DX6i or Dx7
(1) 6 channel or larger Full-Range RX, recommend AR7000
(2) Brushless motors, E-Flite Power25 standard or E-Flite Power 32 for enhanced ability.
(2) E-Flite Pro 60Amp Pro switch-mode BEC Brushless ESC's
(6-7) Standard size servos, 6 if you are using fixed gears and 7 if using retracts.
(2) 3S Batteries with a minimum mAH of 3200 recommended for the Power25 power system
(2) 4S Batteries with a minimum mAH of 3300 for 4S recommended for the Power32 power system
(1) 12X8 Electric Propeller and (1) 12x8 Electric Pusher Propeller both for Power25 power system.
(1) 13X6.5 Electric Propeller and (1) 13X6.5 Electric Pusher Propeller both for Power32 powr system.
(3) 6" Y-Harnesses
(4) 3" Extensions
(2) 9" Extensions
(2) 12" Extensions
Construction of the kit and installation of the hardware listed above requires no real specialty items outside of general modeler's tools and adhesives. Some items to have on hand before beginning the build include Thin and Medium CA, Blue Loc-Tite, 6-Minute Epoxy, Felt-tipped Pen, Phillips screwdrivers both #1,#2 sizes, Sandpaper 100G, Pencil, Dental Floss, Dremel or equivalant with cutting disc, 1/16, 5/64, 3/32, 3/16 drill bits, Side Cutters, 1/4" Nut Driver, Scissors, 3/32 Hex Ball-Driver, 2 sets of locking pliers.
Build:
PREPARATION
I was impressed with the helpfulness and clear nature of this instruction manual. The building part of the manual is over 60 pages long and includes nearly 160 detailed photographs to put pictures to the instructions. If you are one who is concerned about getting floundered or overwhelmed by the ARF don't be, E-Flite did a decent job with this supportive instruction manual. As I detail this build I will not be reverberating the manual but instead adding in some helpful hints to support the original instructions.
First to get started lay out all your parts in an area that you can part with for a few days, this build for an expert probably wouldn't take longer than the expected listed 8 hour build time but for a novice you should plan for alotting twice this time or even more.
Open you bags of hardware, E-Flite has them separated generally between plastics and Metal. Keep them separated but for sake of ease grab two sandwich sized Ziplocs and put all the plastics in one then all the metal in the other. The E-Flite bags are small and sifting to get parts out of these small bags is kind of a pain, also dumping all out would be a disaster as the cat will take off with them etc.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=533
SERVOS
First thing to do is prep your servos. I chose to use (4)JR Digitals and (2)JR Analog servos, Digitals for the Ailerons, Rudder and Elevator controls. Analogs for the Nose Gear Steer and Flaps.The manual gives you the option of prepping each servo when needed in sequence or makes a suggestive hint to do them all at once. Just prep all your servos at once, MUCH easier. Lay them all out and simply insert the isolation rubbers lip first onto the servo mounts then slide in the brass eyelets pushing in from the bottom up.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=535
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=536
ELEVATOR, RUDDER, STEER SERVO MOUNT
Following the instruction manual mark, drill these servos in the orientation provided. For dilling these holes I substituted a Dremel for the suggested pin vise. DO NOT SKIP the step of hardening the wood with some Thin CA. As a matter of fact drop at least 5 drops of THIN CA into each drilled hole, then additionally saturate the wood between the holes with a few drops as well. Basically play connect the dots with the THIN CA. Allow the CA to dry thoroughly before fastening screws. This step will add the extra strength to this highly important area. NOTE: While you are waiting for this CA to dry fire up your RX and bind it to your TX. After binding remove the bind plug and plug in all your servos to the RX. Check to make sure all servos are in working order before starting the mounting process. After all confirmed good proceed.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=537
RECEIVER
I chose to use the AR7000 receiver and installed it as shown in the photo below. Remember this item will be hanging upside down all the time so if you use Hook/Loop other than what is provided in the kit use good quality stuff. In addition a little CA under the edges of the Hook/Loop is a good idea to help from pull-away tape. Remember when mounting this that you will need to leave room to hook up your servo plugs etc. Distance the RX's as far apart as possible and make certain your slave RX antennas are pointing in a perpindicular direction to the master RX. After your RX installation hook up your servos and extensions as detailed on pg 8.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=540
Tail Assembly/Attaching
The E-Flite provided instructions are very clear here however I want to note a couple hints/be aware-ofs. First off when you begin threading the nylon control horn onto the rudder torque rod you will instantly realize this is a non-threaded nylon piece going onto a threaded rod. Although with enough force applied the threads will start an easy trick is to take a 3/32 drill bit with a Dremel or equivalant and drill a bore about .015 deep, basically just breaking the sharp edge and giving the control horn an internal chamfer. With this small chamfer the threads will start SO much easier, making these tedious parts easier the whole build process becomes more fun.
Next area worthy of mentioning is the interfernce between the elevator and the rudder torque rod. I am hoping mine was a defect or anamoly as I found this not very Platinum like, when you insert the threaded rods from the vertical fin into the fuselage it immediately clear the rudder control rod interferes with the elevator by about 1/4". This interference is detailed below in the photo. By turning the rudder you can gain aboout 1/16 but there is still a 3/16" interference. If you see this in your kits proceed carefully so as to not over-stress and break any of the wood. I was able to get it together by deflecting the elevator, rudder and a bit of carefully measured elbow grease.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=539
Rudder and Elevator Linkages
The instructions here as well are very clear, however I have some tool substitutes that I found useful. First in drilling out the servo horns I once again used the Dremel instead of the pin vise. For bending the servo rods after marking as instructed I used two small locking pliers. Lock one of your pliers on as the holding fixed base and butt your bending pliers up close to the fixed set. Get the bend started of the servo rod and go ~30* then unlock your pliers doing the bending, open them up to a jaw size that will receive the holding pliers and squeeze the partially bent rod tight against the fixed holding locking pliers. This will yield a nice tight 90* bend every time.
For the rudder linkage yeah it's kind of a tiny area large hands challenging job that will give a challenge, just take your time. Take care after your tail is on that no animals try to clean their gumline as I caught our cat doing in the below photo.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=543 http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=544
Aileron Servo Installation
This area I hastily traveled through and got into a bit of trouble demanding rework. The instructions are again very clear and straight forward. However to save you some trouble test fit your servos to the preset etched block mounting locations. To do this place the blocks onto the pre-etched wooden Aileron hatch cover/servo mount and take your servo horn and all and place it against the wood. Basically just mock up the fit. My etched squares in the wood were off by about 1/8" and yielded an interference when the Aileron servo rods were installed, bent and keeper was installed. I needed to take the Dremel and cutting disc and remove 5/32 of material. This rework could have been avoided by doing as above and test fitting the servos for travel clearance. Below is a photo of preinstallation detailing the less than .030" clearance between servo horn than installed servo with relief cut to allow for full travel.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=545 http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=546
As to the mount block gluing and drilling no surprises there. Again remember plenty of THIN CA in the mount holes in the blocks after drilling. Apply THIN CA as well to the mounts on the wing for the hatch bolts. Allow these CA'd areas to dry thoroughly before fastening screws. Use some care and drop in a folded paper towel under the hatch opening when you apply your CA to the hatch screw holes. CA on the covering leaves a nasty welt, so keep all CA drops off the covering.
Fishing the aileron servo wires no biggie.
Fixed Landing Gear Installation
Good accurate sound instructions but here again I substituted the Dremel for the Hand Drill and for the Pin Vise. Couple areas of caution, mark the holes very accurately. There is LITTLE room for error here. The Main Landing gears fit very snug in their pockets, it is recommended you shave some material off the plastic mount to help them you in insertion, I had to shave one but the other was fine. The Nose Gear offers the same very tight no room for error tolerance except there are no pockets aligning your mounting pad, so take your time fit it right for steering ability and mark accordingly. If after you mark your holes they look wrong, mark again. As you begin carefully drilling your holes you will note there is minimal, very minimal, wall thickness so drill carefully. The photos below demonstrate just how little room for error there is. It is very imperative here as well you get a good saturation of THIN CA to bond the wood material together and let dry before fastening the gears on. I had thought briefly about using a small amount of EPOXY to ground the landing gears but have decided I will maiden and get a few landings in to see how well they perform as is, the mounts do feel quite strong but the minimal wall thickness even after CA enhanced has me concerned.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=548 http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=547
Flap Servo Installation
Again nicely documented instructions with photos. Only adjustments I'd make to the instructions to make this series of steps easier is as before substitute the Dremel for the pin vise, then remember to chamfer your control horns with the 3/32" drill bit before threading onto the Flap Torque Rods. Also remember use the THIN CA on the servo mounts, let dry then fasten screws.
Aileron and Throttle Servo Extensions
This step drove me crazy, I fought with pulling these extensions until I got frustrated enough to break a Throttle Servo Extension wire. After that I smartened up and with the photo below will share with you the best practice I found to tie up to a servo connector. I made the mistake of just tying length wise to the connector and during fishing the knot would always slide off the connector and hang on the wires. This would cause the servo connector to pull through the passages side-ways and made for a rougher than needed to be step. I then decided as the picture shows below to tie the fish cord to the servo connector then run a piece of tape over the connector holding the fish cord firm in place, this made the job SO much easier and took only seconds to do. The cord that comes attached to the center wing that you cut in half to get both sides' pull throughs is a bit short, I'd tie your own line to that. If you happen to lose the cord as I did when I broke that wire just use one of the servo rods tape a cord to it and slide it through the passages to the center. Also remember these extensions MUST be held together very well as an in-flight unplugged throttle extension would spell DISASTER. Tie them together as described then tape or heat shrink them as well.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=549
Please proceed to the Deuces Wild Build/Review Part 2
Build and Review
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=656
The Platinum Series Deuces Wild 25e2 comes packaged with GREAT care from the factory. For an ARF of this size the box seems small but this is only due to the density of the packaging. Upon opening I was impressed with how all sections were bagged individually and protected. All surface control horns are protected from damage or causing damage by foam blocks, small hardware is prepackaged and segregated by type of hardware.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=541 http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=542
What's in the box:
(1) Deuces Wild ARF Kit
Go through your parts with your manual's list. This is a VERY thorough kit and all connecting hardware to include servo rods, all required clevises, clevis reatiners, pushrod keepers, construction required nuts, bolts, hook and loop tape are supplied.
What's not in the box:
(1) 6 Channel or larger TX, recommended DX6i or Dx7
(1) 6 channel or larger Full-Range RX, recommend AR7000
(2) Brushless motors, E-Flite Power25 standard or E-Flite Power 32 for enhanced ability.
(2) E-Flite Pro 60Amp Pro switch-mode BEC Brushless ESC's
(6-7) Standard size servos, 6 if you are using fixed gears and 7 if using retracts.
(2) 3S Batteries with a minimum mAH of 3200 recommended for the Power25 power system
(2) 4S Batteries with a minimum mAH of 3300 for 4S recommended for the Power32 power system
(1) 12X8 Electric Propeller and (1) 12x8 Electric Pusher Propeller both for Power25 power system.
(1) 13X6.5 Electric Propeller and (1) 13X6.5 Electric Pusher Propeller both for Power32 powr system.
(3) 6" Y-Harnesses
(4) 3" Extensions
(2) 9" Extensions
(2) 12" Extensions
Construction of the kit and installation of the hardware listed above requires no real specialty items outside of general modeler's tools and adhesives. Some items to have on hand before beginning the build include Thin and Medium CA, Blue Loc-Tite, 6-Minute Epoxy, Felt-tipped Pen, Phillips screwdrivers both #1,#2 sizes, Sandpaper 100G, Pencil, Dental Floss, Dremel or equivalant with cutting disc, 1/16, 5/64, 3/32, 3/16 drill bits, Side Cutters, 1/4" Nut Driver, Scissors, 3/32 Hex Ball-Driver, 2 sets of locking pliers.
Build:
PREPARATION
I was impressed with the helpfulness and clear nature of this instruction manual. The building part of the manual is over 60 pages long and includes nearly 160 detailed photographs to put pictures to the instructions. If you are one who is concerned about getting floundered or overwhelmed by the ARF don't be, E-Flite did a decent job with this supportive instruction manual. As I detail this build I will not be reverberating the manual but instead adding in some helpful hints to support the original instructions.
First to get started lay out all your parts in an area that you can part with for a few days, this build for an expert probably wouldn't take longer than the expected listed 8 hour build time but for a novice you should plan for alotting twice this time or even more.
Open you bags of hardware, E-Flite has them separated generally between plastics and Metal. Keep them separated but for sake of ease grab two sandwich sized Ziplocs and put all the plastics in one then all the metal in the other. The E-Flite bags are small and sifting to get parts out of these small bags is kind of a pain, also dumping all out would be a disaster as the cat will take off with them etc.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=533
SERVOS
First thing to do is prep your servos. I chose to use (4)JR Digitals and (2)JR Analog servos, Digitals for the Ailerons, Rudder and Elevator controls. Analogs for the Nose Gear Steer and Flaps.The manual gives you the option of prepping each servo when needed in sequence or makes a suggestive hint to do them all at once. Just prep all your servos at once, MUCH easier. Lay them all out and simply insert the isolation rubbers lip first onto the servo mounts then slide in the brass eyelets pushing in from the bottom up.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=535
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=536
ELEVATOR, RUDDER, STEER SERVO MOUNT
Following the instruction manual mark, drill these servos in the orientation provided. For dilling these holes I substituted a Dremel for the suggested pin vise. DO NOT SKIP the step of hardening the wood with some Thin CA. As a matter of fact drop at least 5 drops of THIN CA into each drilled hole, then additionally saturate the wood between the holes with a few drops as well. Basically play connect the dots with the THIN CA. Allow the CA to dry thoroughly before fastening screws. This step will add the extra strength to this highly important area. NOTE: While you are waiting for this CA to dry fire up your RX and bind it to your TX. After binding remove the bind plug and plug in all your servos to the RX. Check to make sure all servos are in working order before starting the mounting process. After all confirmed good proceed.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=537
RECEIVER
I chose to use the AR7000 receiver and installed it as shown in the photo below. Remember this item will be hanging upside down all the time so if you use Hook/Loop other than what is provided in the kit use good quality stuff. In addition a little CA under the edges of the Hook/Loop is a good idea to help from pull-away tape. Remember when mounting this that you will need to leave room to hook up your servo plugs etc. Distance the RX's as far apart as possible and make certain your slave RX antennas are pointing in a perpindicular direction to the master RX. After your RX installation hook up your servos and extensions as detailed on pg 8.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=540
Tail Assembly/Attaching
The E-Flite provided instructions are very clear here however I want to note a couple hints/be aware-ofs. First off when you begin threading the nylon control horn onto the rudder torque rod you will instantly realize this is a non-threaded nylon piece going onto a threaded rod. Although with enough force applied the threads will start an easy trick is to take a 3/32 drill bit with a Dremel or equivalant and drill a bore about .015 deep, basically just breaking the sharp edge and giving the control horn an internal chamfer. With this small chamfer the threads will start SO much easier, making these tedious parts easier the whole build process becomes more fun.
Next area worthy of mentioning is the interfernce between the elevator and the rudder torque rod. I am hoping mine was a defect or anamoly as I found this not very Platinum like, when you insert the threaded rods from the vertical fin into the fuselage it immediately clear the rudder control rod interferes with the elevator by about 1/4". This interference is detailed below in the photo. By turning the rudder you can gain aboout 1/16 but there is still a 3/16" interference. If you see this in your kits proceed carefully so as to not over-stress and break any of the wood. I was able to get it together by deflecting the elevator, rudder and a bit of carefully measured elbow grease.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=539
Rudder and Elevator Linkages
The instructions here as well are very clear, however I have some tool substitutes that I found useful. First in drilling out the servo horns I once again used the Dremel instead of the pin vise. For bending the servo rods after marking as instructed I used two small locking pliers. Lock one of your pliers on as the holding fixed base and butt your bending pliers up close to the fixed set. Get the bend started of the servo rod and go ~30* then unlock your pliers doing the bending, open them up to a jaw size that will receive the holding pliers and squeeze the partially bent rod tight against the fixed holding locking pliers. This will yield a nice tight 90* bend every time.
For the rudder linkage yeah it's kind of a tiny area large hands challenging job that will give a challenge, just take your time. Take care after your tail is on that no animals try to clean their gumline as I caught our cat doing in the below photo.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=543 http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=544
Aileron Servo Installation
This area I hastily traveled through and got into a bit of trouble demanding rework. The instructions are again very clear and straight forward. However to save you some trouble test fit your servos to the preset etched block mounting locations. To do this place the blocks onto the pre-etched wooden Aileron hatch cover/servo mount and take your servo horn and all and place it against the wood. Basically just mock up the fit. My etched squares in the wood were off by about 1/8" and yielded an interference when the Aileron servo rods were installed, bent and keeper was installed. I needed to take the Dremel and cutting disc and remove 5/32 of material. This rework could have been avoided by doing as above and test fitting the servos for travel clearance. Below is a photo of preinstallation detailing the less than .030" clearance between servo horn than installed servo with relief cut to allow for full travel.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=545 http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=546
As to the mount block gluing and drilling no surprises there. Again remember plenty of THIN CA in the mount holes in the blocks after drilling. Apply THIN CA as well to the mounts on the wing for the hatch bolts. Allow these CA'd areas to dry thoroughly before fastening screws. Use some care and drop in a folded paper towel under the hatch opening when you apply your CA to the hatch screw holes. CA on the covering leaves a nasty welt, so keep all CA drops off the covering.
Fishing the aileron servo wires no biggie.
Fixed Landing Gear Installation
Good accurate sound instructions but here again I substituted the Dremel for the Hand Drill and for the Pin Vise. Couple areas of caution, mark the holes very accurately. There is LITTLE room for error here. The Main Landing gears fit very snug in their pockets, it is recommended you shave some material off the plastic mount to help them you in insertion, I had to shave one but the other was fine. The Nose Gear offers the same very tight no room for error tolerance except there are no pockets aligning your mounting pad, so take your time fit it right for steering ability and mark accordingly. If after you mark your holes they look wrong, mark again. As you begin carefully drilling your holes you will note there is minimal, very minimal, wall thickness so drill carefully. The photos below demonstrate just how little room for error there is. It is very imperative here as well you get a good saturation of THIN CA to bond the wood material together and let dry before fastening the gears on. I had thought briefly about using a small amount of EPOXY to ground the landing gears but have decided I will maiden and get a few landings in to see how well they perform as is, the mounts do feel quite strong but the minimal wall thickness even after CA enhanced has me concerned.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=548 http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=547
Flap Servo Installation
Again nicely documented instructions with photos. Only adjustments I'd make to the instructions to make this series of steps easier is as before substitute the Dremel for the pin vise, then remember to chamfer your control horns with the 3/32" drill bit before threading onto the Flap Torque Rods. Also remember use the THIN CA on the servo mounts, let dry then fasten screws.
Aileron and Throttle Servo Extensions
This step drove me crazy, I fought with pulling these extensions until I got frustrated enough to break a Throttle Servo Extension wire. After that I smartened up and with the photo below will share with you the best practice I found to tie up to a servo connector. I made the mistake of just tying length wise to the connector and during fishing the knot would always slide off the connector and hang on the wires. This would cause the servo connector to pull through the passages side-ways and made for a rougher than needed to be step. I then decided as the picture shows below to tie the fish cord to the servo connector then run a piece of tape over the connector holding the fish cord firm in place, this made the job SO much easier and took only seconds to do. The cord that comes attached to the center wing that you cut in half to get both sides' pull throughs is a bit short, I'd tie your own line to that. If you happen to lose the cord as I did when I broke that wire just use one of the servo rods tape a cord to it and slide it through the passages to the center. Also remember these extensions MUST be held together very well as an in-flight unplugged throttle extension would spell DISASTER. Tie them together as described then tape or heat shrink them as well.
http://www.horizonrcflyers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=549
Please proceed to the Deuces Wild Build/Review Part 2